Pro/Am Contests Blog

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Karla Reyes is the grand prize winner of the 2008 Prolab Charging Forward Dodge Charger Giveaway sweepstakes. On Dec. 24 Prolab announced Karla as the winner of the sweepstakes in which she was given the option of a new Dodge Charger or $20,000. She took the $20,000 and gave it to her dad for Christmas.

Born and raised in Acajutla, El Salvador, Reyes moved to L.A. with her family in May, 1992. She is one of six children to her parents, who both work for L.A.’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. A Licensed Vocational Nurse and graduate of St. Francis Career College in Lynwood, CA, Reyes is finishing her prerequisite classes in order to enter an RN program. She’s also a hostess at a Beverly Hills restaurant.

The day she was notified of winning the prize, Reyes said she had been worrying about one of her patients. She was lunching with her sisters when she received Prolab’s call that she won the grand prize and, she said, “It brightened my day.”

Check the full article Here!

OK I listen to people and I have made the decision to change the Barbie Barbell Fitness Challenge to Push-up America hosted by Barbie Barbell. I have had several guys say it was a good idea but young men might have a problem participating in anything named Barbie. My goal is to help children overcome childhood obesity and live healthier lives. So the Push-up America program will consist of push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups. Each child that participates will receive a white t-shirt with the logo of the event on the front and the sponsors on the back. If they meet the minimum required number of exercises in each event they will receive a red t-shirt with the logo and identifying them as Push-up American Fit and if the exceed each of the maximum numbers they will receive a royal blue t-shirt identifying them as Push-up American Elite and will receive an invitation to participate in the Push-up America National Championships to be held at a really big sporting event in 2010.
Help me help our youth and put a big dent in childhood obesity with Push-up America!!!! I will be coming to a city near you soon!!!!!!!

Barbie

All you Bodybuilders, Fitness, Figure and Bikini Models, the 2009 Season is just around the corner. I know it’s been hard to keep that diet clean and get to the gym with the Holiday hustle and bustle and all those delicious sweets staring you in the face but when you take home first place in your first competition this year it will be well worth and is also a great way to start off the season.

Let BB.com help you have the best season you can through Motivation. Supplementation. Information.

If you haev a contest coming up check out our Contest Prep Page.

Hope the Holidays treat you all well and have a great New Year, may it bring you the best in your goals!

P.S. get all your UFC 92 results right here on Bodybuilding.com.

For those of you who haven’t heard the NPC will be introducing a new Division starting in 2009, The Bikini Division!

Height Classes will consist of 6 classes:

• Up to and including 5’1”
• Over 5’1” and up to and including 5’2-1/2”
• Over 5’2-1/2” and up to and including 5’4”
• Over 5’4” and up to and including 5’5-1/2
• Over 5’5-1/2” and up to and including 5’7”
• Over 5’7”

If you haven’ already, get registered today!

The competitors for the 2009 Arnold Classic have been released.

For more Arnold Classic news, check out the 2009 Arnold Blog.

Here’s the list for the 2009 Arnold Competitors (thanks to Isaac Hinds)!

Arnold Classic:

Gustavo Badell
Moe Elmoussawi
Toney Freeman
Kai Greene
Ahmad Haidar
Marcus Haley
Johnnie Jackson
Dennis James
Victor Martinez
Ronny Rockel
Silvio Samuel
Sergey Shelestov
Branch Warren

Ms. International:

Heather (Policky) Armburst
Dayana Cadeau
Iris Floyd Kyle
Maria Del Carmen Gomez
Rosemary Jennings
Debi Laszewski
Cathy LeFrancois
Mah-Ann Mendoza
Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia
Betty Pariso
Brenda Raganot
Isabelle Turell
Betty Viana-Adkins
Dena Westerfield

Fitness International:

Jessica Clay
Regiane Da Silva
Nicole Duncan
Tina Durkin
Heidi Fletcher-Sullivan
Bethany Gainey
Tracey Greenwood
Oksana Grishina
Jen Hendershott
Tanji Johnson
Shannon Meteraud
Mindi O’brien
Julie Palmer
Erin Riley
Trish Warren
Nicole Wilkins-Lee

Figure International:

Gina Aliotti
Huong Arcinas
Monica Brant
Heather Mae French
Amy Fry
Adela Garcia
Jennifer Gates
Sonia (Adcock) Gonzales
Lenay Hernandez
Georgina Lona
Juliana Malacarne
Zivile Raudoniene
Kristal Richardson
Felicia Romero
Sherlyn Roy
Chastity Slone
Brenda Marie Smith
Erin Stern
Latisha Wilder

NANBF 2009 Natuarl Bodybuilding & Fitness Seminar!

Get a head start on your competition or just come for fun! Either way don’t miss out on this free seminar.

Well, there aren’t many shows this time of year, so for all you competitors, here are some links to check out to keep you motivated.

Some recent contests for motivation:

2008 IFBB Romanian Pro Grand Prix

2008 IFBB Olympia

2008 NPC Excalibur Bodybuilding And Figure Championships

For some hardcore motivation check out the best of the best as they prepare for the Olympia at the Bodybuilding.com Olympia: The Series 2008

If you don’t already have a BodySpace sign up now and track your progress as you work your way to the top of your game.

Those of you who are ready to compete, search for upcoming shows right here on Bodybuilding.com.

I’ve been competing for about 10 years now and for the past 5 years I’ve been trying to win the Overall at the Paradise Cup. The Paradise Cup has become the most prestigious national qualifier in Hawaii right now and it was my goal to win that before I can truly focus on competing in the mainland.  The Paradise Cup is not that well known because it’s all the way in Hawaii but I encourage more people to come down and try it out, the quality of competitors is getting better each year and it’s a great show, the promoters really know how to take care of the athletes. It’s quite an experience.

I plan on doing the USA’s next year and feel I am ready to make a big impact. I know a lot of guys say that but I’ve done my homework and I have genetics on my side so hopefully if all goes well I’ll put Hawaii on the map for bodybuilding especially for the bigger guys.

Check out the ‘08 Paradise Main Page

The second annual Muscle Beach Toy Drive, December 13 & 14, 2008 was a HUGE!! success. The bite in the air was a reminder to all that Christmas was near and the donors responded with an outstanding donation of toys.

Many thanks to Bodybuilding.com and Iron Man Magazine the Presenting Sponsors of the event. The BB.com event t-shirts and Iron Man Magazines were proudly displayed by each donor.

The City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department, Venice Recreation Center and the Los Angeles Pacific Division Police Department, Host Sponsors, graciously provided the location and distributed the toys to needy children in the Los Angeles area.

Councilman Bill Rosendahl, 11th District, presented Certificates of Appreciation for their outstanding contribution to the City of Los Angeles. The following contributors to the Muscle Beach Toy Drive were recognized:

Russ Deluca (accepted by Jerome Ferguson) Bodybuilding.com
John Balik (accepted by Steve Downs) Iron Man Magazine
Abbas Moussawwi - Pro-Fight Supplements
Eric Fleischman – Eric The Trainer

In addition Joe Wheatley Productions would like to thank Fruit Gallery – James and Nina Merced for their donation of hot chocolate that hit the spot on a nippy afternoon.

The Venice High School Choir – the “Allegros” entertained the crowd with Christmas Carols. Thanks to Wendy Kornbeck, Choir Director, for her enthusiasm and Christmas Spirit.

Sunday afternoon, the guest star of the event Santa Claus arrived by a sled, escorted by the LAPD. What a great sight to see Santa coming down the Venice Boardwalk, visiting with the kids and taking orders for Christmas Wishes!!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year to everyone!!!

1950 - 1955 Mr. America results now posted! Check them out.  We are working hard to bring you all the results from your favorite competitors from the ’50’s and beyond so keep checking back.

We are also working on bringing you photos from the "Good Old Days" of Bodybuilding!  For now here are the results for the 1950 - 1955 Mr. America:

• 1950 AAU Mr. America Results!
• 1951 AAU Mr. America Results!
• 1952 AAU Mr. America Results!
• 1953 AAU Mr. America Results!
• 1954 AAU Mr. America Results!
• 1955 AAU Mr. America Results!

Check out results and photos from the 2008 OCB Yorton Cup Nationals & Pro International contest right here.

Contest Review - by www.NorthAmericanBodies.com

On the morning of November 15th, 2008 a stellar field of natural athletes checked-in for the prejudging round of the 2008 OCB Yorton Cup Nationals.  The event was held near Washington, D.C. at the Bowie Center for Performing Arts. The large audience assembled on this overcast and rainy day was eagerly anticipating the OCB Yorton Cup Nationals as well as the OCB Stars & Stripes Novice Championships and the Yorton Cup Pro International sanctioned by the IFPA.  The show’s promoter, Matt Shepley, has put on great shows in the past and we were eagerly anticipating no less this year.  And we at www.NorthAmericanBodies.com were not disappointed in the least, as Matt presented another great OCB show.  In all, there were 188 entrants across all figure and bodybuilding classes and divisions.

Figure Competitors

Men Bodybuilding Competitors

Women Bodybuilding Competitors

Historical significance, name recognition and uniqueness made the Yorton Cup suitable and ideal to represent the very finest of natural bodybuilding. The title came from being named after Chet Yorton.  Chet Yorton is the Father of Natural Bodybuilding. He has been credited with holding the very first drug-tested bodybuilding competition back in 1978. Yorton is also a widely known figure from bodybuilding’s Golden Era (60’s & 70’s) who had quite a distinguished competition career, laying claim to titles such as the IFBB Mr. America and NABBA Mr. Universe and being one of only three men who ever defeated Arnold Schwarzenegger.

IFPA Pro Divisions:
In conjunction with the amateur Yorton Cup competition, a pro competition sponsored by the IFPA (International Fitness and Physique Association) was held. The IFPA offers professional level drug tested physique and figure competitions. Affiliated amateur level organizations offer events that are designated as IFPA pro qualifiers. Upon winning specified placements at an IFPA pro qualifying event and successfully passing all drug-testing procedures enforced at the pro qualifying event, an athlete becomes eligible to accept IFPA pro status and compete in professional level physique or figure competitions (whichever is applicable) sanctioned by the IFPA. The Pro Yorton Cup is such a sanctioned competition. There were many amazing female and male athletes lined up to compete for this prestigious title.

Pro Men’s Bodybuilding:
Twenty-one amazing men, who achieved pro status as bodybuilders, competed for the top IFPA Yorton honors. The competition was fierce but in the end, it was  Darren Varnon from the United Kingdom who captured the  IFPA pro title by winning 1st place and the IFPA Yorton Cup with a prize of $2,500. Close on his heels was Kareem Petteway of Maryland who placed 2nd and was named Best Poser, taking home $1,600 in prize money.  Third place and $1000 went to David Lovelace of Florida.

Mens Pro Winners

Mens Pro Bodybuilding Overall Winner

Pro Figure Division:

Twelve women stepped onto the stage to compete for the IFPA Pro Figure Title. Naome Murdock from Virginia wound up on top taking 1st place and the IFPA  Yorton Cup as well as a check for $2,500.  In second place was Yenny Polanco  from Massachusetts who earned $1,600 and was named Best Poser.  Monika Rodgers from Pennsylvania won 3rd place and a check for $1,000.

Pro Figure Winners

Pro Figure Overall Winner

Pro Women’s Bodybuilding:
Rising to the top among the twelve pro women was Maria Carolina Davis from Texas who proved victorious for the IFPA women’s Pro Bodybuilding Title, claiming the IFPA Yorton Cup and the $2,600 prize for placing 1st being Best Poser.   Karly Green  of Arizona, last year’s winner, took  2nd place and $1,500 in prize money.   Carolyn Brinkley of Maryland once again claimed 3rd place and a $1,000 prize.  It was a very competitive field of accomplished women bodybuilders.

Womens Pro Bodybuilding Winners

Womens Pro Bodybuilding Overall Winner

Men’s Novice Bodybuilding Divisions:
The bodybuilders in the Men’s Novice Division were judged in two classes, Short and Tall.  William Moore brought an impressive package to the stage and took 1st place in the Short Class, with Corey Smith in 2nd place, Anthony Mack in 3rd place and Thomas Phillips in 4th place.  In the Tall Class, a very massive David Shutler took 1st place, followed by Lewis McCaskill in 2nd place and Juniors competitor Thomas DiNiro Jr. in 3rd place.  Rounding out the top five  were Jeremy Wright in 4th place and Derek Gibson in 5th place.  William Moore faced off against Tall Class winner David Shutler for the Overall title, and the judges came to the decision that the Short Class winner William Moore should take the top Novice honors.

Mens Novice Short Class Winners

Novice Tall Class Winners

Novice Division Winners

Mens Novice Champion

Men’s Masters Bodybuilding:
The Masters competitors were judged in three age brackets:  60+, 50+ and 40+.  For the Men 60+ Class, a phenomenal-looking Neal Grossman placed 1st, with J. Blair Hayes taking 2nd place and Edward Flanders taking 3rd place.  For the Men 50+ Class, Neal Grossman crossed-over and also took 1st place in this Class, improving his runner-up position in this class last year.  The 2nd place trophy went to Butch Paradis.  Rounding out the top five  were Ken Herndon in 3rd, Wendell Blaylock in 4th place and J. Blair Hayes in 5th place.   For the Men 40+ Class, the winner was Randy Glass, followed by Victor Caruncho in 2nd place and Gerard Laraque in 3rd place.

Masters 60+

Masters 50+

Masters 40+

Men’s Junior Bodybuilding:
The Juniors competing in this class were exceptional and each shows great promise for the future.  The winner was a very well-balanced and muscular 20 year old,  Andre Bland.  The runner-up in 2nd place was Thomas DiNiro Jr. who also competed and placed as a Novice.  3rd place went to Sergio Merino.  

Mens Junior Class Winners

Junior Winner Andre Bland

Men’s Open Bodybuilding:
The Men’s Open Bodybuilding contest was judged in three  Classes:  Short, Middle  and Tall.  In the Short Class, 1st place went to an extremely well-conditioned Andrew Hoover over Randy Glass who placed 2nd.  Sadig Durham placed 3rd, Junior winner Andre Bland placed 4th and Sergio Merino took 5th place.  In the Open Middle Class, 1st place was captured by Maurice Duckett, followed by Kevin Simpson in 2nd place and Adam Fabbri in 3rd place.  Rounding out the top 5 were Gerard Laraque in 4th place and Joseph Sigismondo in 5th place.  Saiid Tajan-Kamara won 1st place in the Open Tall Class repeating his win from last year.  Corey Smith took 2nd place and David Shutler the Novice Tall winner placed 3rd.  In 4th place was Roosevelt Smtih and 5th place was Wendell Blaylock.  The judges selected Saiid Tajan-Kamara as the Men’s Open Overall Champion

Mens Open Short Class Winners

Mens Open Middle Class Winners

Mens Open Tall Class Winners

Mens Open Division Winners

Mens Open Winner Overall

OCB Yorton Cup Winners:
The OCB Yorton Cup is awarded to the best in show for each of Figure, Women’s Bodybuilding and Men’s Bodybuilding.  Because competitors were allowed to crossover divisions in this year’s show, the Open Division Overall Winners were awarded the Yorton Cups.  For figure, Virginia’s Jill Vadala, laid claim on this night to the OCB’s national figure title with her OCB Yorton Cup victory.  Among the 40 amateur figure competitors who took part in the show, Jill Vadala was the one who rose to the top of the highly competitive lineup. She first claimed the Masters 35+ division title before marching on to become OCB’s new National Figure Champion.  Florida’s Stacy Rowicki’s change from Figure to Bodybuilding paid-off in a big way when she was named the OCB Yorton Cup National Women’s Bodybuilding Champion. Finally, the new Yorton Cup National Men’s Bodybuilding Champion is Saiid Tejan-Kamara from Delaware.  Saiid grabbed a first place vote from one of the judges at last year’s OCB Yorton Cup Nationals. He walked away with two first-place marks at this past Augusts’ OCB Mid-Atlantic Muscle Classic in New Jersey, still not enough to claim a prestigious IFPA Pro card. This year’s Yorton Cup was the one though. In convincing fashion he claimed straight first-place votes from all judges to become the new OCB Men’s Bodybuilding National Champion and new IFPA Pro.

Yorton Cup Figure

Yorton Cup Womens Bodybuilding

Yorton Cup Mens Bodybuilding

Novice Figure Divisions:
The Novice Figure competitors were judged in two classes, Short and Tall.  Chikondi Mseka was victorious in the Short Class, edging out Elizabeth Orsini.  Rounding out the top five were Eryn Strickland 3rd, Jillian O’Malley 4th and Jody Philips 5th.  In the Tall Class, Demica Paige was victorious, edging out Amber White-Fowler who took 2nd.  Jennifer Tinjum took 3rd place, 4th place went to Francina Segbefia and 5th place went to Tracy Sisson.  In the battle for the Overall title, it was the Short Class winner Chikondi Mseka who prevailed.

Figure Masters 35+ Division:
It was Jill Vadala who claimed the 1st place trophy in this competitive class, with Medina Roberts in 2nd place and Susan Maloney taking 3rd place.  Rounding out the top five were Denine Bransom in 4th place and Maggie Batten in 5th place.

Open Figure Division:
The women in Open Figure were judged in three classes: Short, Middle and Tall. The Short Class was won by Jill Vadala, who had also won the Masters Class.  2nd place went to Medina Roberts while 3rd place went to Susan Maloney.  Filling out the top five were Chikonda Mseka who took 4th place and Maria Aponte who took 5th place.  For the Middle Class, 1st place was awarded to Katie Gallagher, followed by Shuntrice Holloman in 2nd and Jody Phillips in 3rd place.  Jennifer Tinjum took 4th place and Vicki Aeschbacher took 5th. place.   The Tall Class was topped by Demica Paige who took 1st place over Adiana Aliotta who placed 2nd.  The 3rd place trophy went to Amber White-Fowlrer, 4th place to Maggie Batten and 5th place to Francina Segbefia.  Angel Joy Boyd was named as the recipient of the Best Poser Award.  Class Winners Jill Vadala, Katie Gallagher and Demica Paige faced off for the Overall title, but it was Jill Vadala who took home top honors.

Women’s Novice Bodybuilding:
There were three women competing in the Novice Bodybuilding contest.   Danauta Fox took home the 1st place trophy.  The runner-up in 2nd place was Michelle Smith and 3rd place went to Suzanna Weiss.

Women’s Masters 35+ Bodybuilding:
It was Michelle Brown who took this class, with Roberta Hatch taking 2nd and Susan Maloney in 3rd place.  Rounding out the top five were Susan Brunson in 4th place and Danauta Fox in 5th place.

Women’s Open Bodybuilding:
The Open Women were judged in Short and Tall classes. The Short Class winner was Stacy Rowicki, who was also named Best Poser.  2nd place was awarded to Michelle Brown and 3rd place went to Susan Maloney.  The winner of the Tall Class was Roberta Hatch.  Susan Brunson was runner-up taking 2nd place while 3rd place went to Paulette Gabourel and 4th place to Michelle Bothun.  In the Overall contest between Stacy Rowicki and Roberta Hatch, the judges awarded top honors to Stacy Rowicki.

Womens Open Bodybuilding Winner

The judges had a quite difficult job in so many classes due to the high caliber of competitors at this show. The Pro show alone took about 90 minutes to judge!  Many thanks to the judges.  The Amateur judges were: Deb Wansor (ANBC National Champion), Mike Milas, Stasi Longo (Natural Pro), Sean Sullivan - head judge (Natural Pro), Doug Miller (Natural Pro), David Crisafi, Nicole Weeks (Figure Pro).  The Pro judges were: Vicki McCann (Natural Pro), Mike Milas, Stasi Longo (Natural Pro), Sean Sullivan - head judge (Natural Pro), Doug Miller (Natural Pro), Nigel Davis (Pro Natural World Champion), Nicole Weeks (Figure Pro).  Get ready for next year’s OCB Yorton Cup because if this show was any predictor, next year should once again produce another incredible cast of quality, natural competitors and www.NorthAmericanBodies.com will definitely be back!

You can find more information about the OCB Yorton Cup and other OCB events at www.theOCBwebsite.com and the IFPA at www.ifpapro.com.

Here is what Michelle Krause had to say about Excalibur!

"All I can say is that it was a longggg show and as soon as I walked off stage I drove 6 hours home to AZ.  Other then that I had a great time, I met a few people that I would love to see again in future competitions.  I think John Lindsey has great shows and it was a wonderful experience to do one.  My next show is USA’s so look for me!  "

Well the Exclibur was a relative success for me. Compared to my first experience there I did much better, up a whole weight class and I placed 7th instead of 9th. So progress is good. Of course I have my complaints about the judging and the placings of Cody and myself, but the point is I just need to keep getting better. If I just get good enough there will be no other option than placing better. It was a huge show though and two of the guys in my class have (or had) big sponsorships- Muscle Asylum and MuscleTech guys they were- so if I’m hanging in the top ten with them that is cool.

I must complain about the show logistics though. The show was very poorly managed. I wasn’t even through with registration and the show was already more than an hour behind schedual. It can be really annoying actually because it really f*cks the competitors up. I mean can’t they keep **** together? I’ve been a competitior in countless national and world class track meets and they run like clockwork- with 5 times the number of athletes and events! John Lindsay’s shows are supposed to be the best in the west and out of the three I’ve been in so far everyone has been a cluster f*ck wth unhappy athletes and incompetant help. I mean three of the heavyweights almost missed posing in the nightshow because the pump room help didn’t call them (or called the wrong numbers!)… that turned into posing routines with no pump time. Sh*tty. During the prejudging the judges forgot to bring out an athlete at one point so all of us heavyweights wound up having to hold a front double biceps for 2 minutes! while they figured it out. As soon as they did, they brought the dude out and started our mandatories over again. Basically every five seconds people that were supposed to know what they were doing were f*cking up and it felt like they were doing it out of apathy. Glad I dropped like 500 bucks on the event.

Check Out The Results for these Retro 1950’s Shows.

More shows from the ’30’s, ’40’s, ’50’s, ’60’s, ’70’s, ’80’s & ’90’s will be added soon so keep checking back!

Check out the results from the Retro contests here.